Update on American Pinball; Yukon Yeti at Pintastic New England; Tons of Stern Games at or Approaching 1.0

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Apr 7, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.024

TL;DR

American Pinball restructures under new ownership; Stern games approach 1.0 code.

Summary

American Pinball has undergone significant leadership and operational changes under new owner Brian Vincent, with Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel from The Electric Playground joining the team. The company is actively producing multiple titles including Houdini, Galactic Tank Force, and a new Hot Wheels edition, with a Cirqus Voltaire reimagined edition planned for later in 2026. Additionally, multiple Stern Pinball games (Dungeons & Dragons, John Wick) have reached code 1.0, while others are nearing completion, and Turner Pinball is making its East Coast debut at Pintastic New England.

Key Claims

Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel from Electric Playground have officially joined American Pinball, with Rob handling project management and go-to-market strategy, and Nick designing a new game based on a previously acquired license
high confidence · Knapp Arcade citing Episode 33 of 'In Before the Lock' podcast with Rob Rath and Davey of Stumblor
Brian Vincent is the new owner of American Pinball, having acquired it from Aimtron
high confidence · Knapp Arcade citing 'In Before the Lock' podcast
American Pinball is currently building Houdinis, Galactic Tank Force, and a new Hot Wheels edition
high confidence · Rob Rath statement in 'In Before the Lock' podcast
Cirqus Voltaire 'reimagined' edition is coming later in 2026 with the Electric Playground topper included
high confidence · Rob Rath in 'In Before the Lock' podcast
Dungeons & Dragons reached code 1.0 with a new Challenge Mode, and designer Brian Eddy confirmed this is the second of three planned major code updates
high confidence · Knapp Arcade citing Brian Eddy and Stern Pinball streams
John Wick pinball has reached code 1.0
high confidence · Knapp Arcade citing Stern Pinball official information
Star Wars: Fall of the Empire is at code v0.92, Walking Dead Remastered at v0.90, and King Kong: Myth of Terror Island at v0.95
high confidence · Knapp Arcade citing Stern Pinball code version updates
One of American Pinball newly acquired licenses is based on a movie and another is a music band
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade reporting from unspecified source ('I have heard that')
Rob and Nick from Electric Playground are based four hours from American Pinball's Palatine, IL facility and visit a couple times a month
high confidence · Rob Rath in 'In Before the Lock' podcast

Notable Quotes

“The partnership actually originated last year when Brian saw The Electric Playground topper at Amusement Expo.”
[name withheld pending review] @ N/A — Explains the origin of the Electric Playground-American Pinball partnership
“Rob noted the existing American Pinball team was more robust than people assumed — they're currently building Houdinis, Galactic Tank Force, and a new Hot Wheels edition.”
[name withheld pending review] @ N/A — Indicates American Pinball's actual production capacity is higher than perceived
“According to designer Brian Eddy, this update is the second of three major code updates planned for the game, so there's even more to come.”
Brian Eddy @ N/A — Confirms future code roadmap for Dungeons & Dragons beyond 1.0
“It's essentially the dungeon crawl but you play until your party dies or you drain. The layout resets weekly.”
[name withheld pending review] @ N/A — Details the new Challenge Mode feature in D&D 1.0 code

Entities

American Pinballcompany Rob RathpersonNick NeitzelpersonBrian VincentpersonElectric PlaygroundcompanyThe Electric PlaygroundcompanyDaveypersonStern PinballcompanyDungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eyegame

Signals

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business_signal: American Pinball undergoes ownership transition from Aimtron to Brian Vincent, with new leadership team from Electric Playground (Rob Rath, Nick Neitzel) joining
high · Official announcement in 'In Before the Lock' podcast; partnership originated at Amusement Expo when Brian Vincent observed Electric Playground's work
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business_signal: Electric Playground founders integrated into American Pinball operations with defined roles in project management and game design
high · Rob Rath handling project management and go-to-market; Nick Neitzel designing new game
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manufacturing_signal: American Pinball has more robust production capacity than commonly perceived, simultaneously building multiple titles
high · Rob Rath noted existing team is producing Houdinis, Galactic Tank Force, and new Hot Wheels edition while planning Circus Voltaire reimagined
?
code_update: Multiple Stern Pinball games reaching or approaching code 1.0 within short timeframe
high · Dungeons & Dragons and John Wick at v1.0; Star Wars at v0.92, Walking Dead at v0.90, King Kong at v0.95
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product_launch: Circus Voltaire reimagined edition scheduled for later in 2026 with Electric Playground topper included
high · Rob Rath statement in podcast
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Transcript

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News Update on American Pinball; Yukon Yeti at Pintastic New England; Tons of Stern Games at or Approaching 1.0 k knapparcade April 7, 2026 Davey of Stumblor pinball mods and Rob Rath from The Electric Playground and now American Pinball just published Episode 33 of their regular "In Before the Lock" pinball podcast. In it we got a little new information about American Pinball. As previously announced, Rob and his fellow Electric Playground person Nick Neitzel have officially joined the American Pinball team, working with new owner Brian Vincent. The partnership actually originated last year when Brian saw The Electric Playground's Circus Voltaire topper at Amusement Expo. After seeing it, he reached out to Rob and Nick to talk about his impending acquisition of American from Aimtron. In their new roles with the company, Rob is handling project management, go-to-market strategy, and team building. Nick is already designing a new game for American — it's a license Brian had previously acquired (not the whitewood they were working on independently). On a related note, though not from this podcast, I have heard that one of the licenses that AP has acquired is based on a movie and the other is a band - it's actually been a while since we've had a new music pin so that should be interesting. They are based about four hours from American's facility in Palatine, IL (near Stern), visiting a couple times a month. Rob noted the existing American Pinball team was more robust than people assumed — they're currently building Houdinis, Galactic Tank Force, and a new Hot Wheels edition. The Circus Voltaire "reimagined" edition is coming later this year, with the Electric Playground topper included. Rob will be at Pintastic this week representing American. I can't embed the video here, so below is a link for anyone who wants to listen to the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\fjLuxgpKc8&t=246s Speaking of the Pintastic New England pinball show, I will be there on Friday and Saturday of this week. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there. As I mentioned previously, we will get our first look at the new Cardona Pinball 2.0 Kit at the show. We also will see the first East Coast appearance of Turner Pinball's newest game, the Dennis Nordman designed Yukon Yeti at the event. I will continue to provide updates on the show throughout with lots of pictures and videos. On to Stern Pinball... !Advertisement First up I have a cool look at Pokémon pinball on the production line at Stern's Elk Grove Village factory, courtesy of the news outlet Nintendo Wire. We Went Inside a Pokémon Pinball Factory at Stern! - Factory Tour Teaser #pokemon #pinball - YouTube Tap to unmute Nintendo Wire Nintendo Wire Speaking of Stern, the company's coders have been hard at work, with both Dungeons and Dragons and John Wick now hitting code version 1.0 and Star Wars: Fall of the Empire (V 0.92), The Walking Dead Remastered (V 0.90) and King Kong: Myth of Terror Island (V 0.95) all almost at 1.0. New sponsor slot Your sponsored ad here Be the first to claim this placement. Contact knapparcade@gmail.com today As an owner of the game, I personally was particularly excited to see Dungeons and Dragons hit 1.0. According to designer Brian Eddy, this update is the second of three major code updates planned for the game, so there's even more to come. This latest code introduces a new Challenge Mode to the game. It's essentially the dungeon crawl but you play until your party dies or you drain. The layout resets weekly. Stern has streamed the latest versions of code for all of these games over the past couple of weeks. I have included them below: 1.0 Dungeons & Dragons Code! - YouTube Tap to unmute 1.0 Dungeons & Dragons Code! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball 1.0 John Wick Code! - YouTube Tap to unmute 1.0 John Wick Code! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball 0.95 KING KONG Code! - YouTube Tap to unmute 0.95 KING KONG Code! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball 0.92 STAR WARS CODE GAMEPLAY! - YouTube Tap to unmute 0.92 STAR WARS CODE GAMEPLAY! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball 0.90 THE WALKING DEAD CODE! - YouTube Tap to unmute 0.90 THE WALKING DEAD CODE! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball * Last up, I have another factory tour for everyone. This one isn't for a pinball manufacturer though, it's for the arcade game manufacturer Alan-1. Ever wondered where Alan-1 games come to life? From concept to cabinet — this is where the magic happens. 👾 Every game counts._ Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Download the video instead. Posted 8 minutes ago k About knapparcade Site administrator Comments (0) Please sign in to join the conversation. No comments yet Be the first to share your thoughts on this post! Related Articles Update on American Pinball; Yukon Yeti at Pintastic New England; Tons of Stern Games at or Approaching 1.0 8 minutes ago New Pinball to be Revealed at Pintastic New England; That Blueprint is NOT Pinball Brothers' Next Game; Info on Multimorphic's Next Game 6 days ago Last Day to Buy Predator Pinball; New Lost in Space Classic Pinball Machine; Details on TNMT Home Pin 7 days ago Subscribe to Updates Get the latest pinball news, blog posts, and event announcements delivered to your inbox Subscribe !Advertisement New sponsor slot Your sponsored ad here Be the first to claim this placement.